Books Archives - Karl Schonborn

Beauty Queen Killers – Known and Unknown – Crime Tutorial

September 21, 2019 By Karl 6 Comments

Maybe you're an author writing about JonBenet Ramsey, a little "beauty queen" whose murder is still unsolved. Or you're writing about grown-up queens who've been murdered, like the ones featured in podcasts and 24/7 crime shows. Well, here's a tutorial that might help you flesh out some details in an article or book you're writing. It's about a few of the deets about both a known killer and an unknown one. Known and Unknown Beauty Queen Killers There are a few books about the known "Beauty … [Read more...]

Crime – Serial Killer – Tutorial – Intro, Definitions, Myths.

September 1, 2019 By Karl 2 Comments

Writers, esp those writing true-crime books, are often drawn to serial killer stories. And so are everyday people since these stories both horrify and fascinate us frequently. As a service to my fellow writers, I'm providing another tutorial. This one deals with the facts and the myths of serial killers. Hopefully, writers will find them useful for their writing. And other readers may just find them interesting. Some facts. Serial killings account for very few of all murders committed in … [Read more...]

True Crime — do these reasons explain why you love it?

August 10, 2019 By Karl 3 Comments

Some have called my book-in-progress a true crime memoir. Its working title is Privileged Killers...and a criminologist mugged by reality. It's tagline — When friends kill and loved ones betray him, a progressive criminologist must ditch his idealism or lose his wife and even his life. True Crime rules...these days. Whether seen as a pure true crime story, or a hybrid true crime memoir, my book's alerted me to the huge appetite we have these days for true … [Read more...]

Privilege, Power, and Race — Whiteness explained.

March 29, 2019 By Karl 5 Comments

Allan Johnson, Privilege, Power, and Race. Privilege, Power, and Race. One of my favorite sociologists, Allan Johnson, died recently. I've been meaning to pay homage to him and one of his key books. His thoughts on privilege, power and race reflect notions I've expressed here and elsewhere. The following is an excerpt from Johnson's book Privilege, Power, and Difference, 2nd edition, which deserves being quoted in it's entirety. "Individuals and systems are connected to each … [Read more...]

Honoring Martin Luther King, Painting, and Writing.

January 20, 2019 By Karl 3 Comments

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his holiday in the U.S., I've added paintings I did of '60s & '70s American heroes to my gallery. Most all of these heroes were assertive, yet nonviolent, agents for change and justice. The possible exception is Dag Hammarskjold whose United Nations peacekeepers around the world had to defend themselves, sadly, with armed force on occasion. I painted these and other works at an artists' commune in a warehouse, which is featured in the book I'm … [Read more...]

How to boost the CLEFT HEART book and reap rewards.

December 19, 2018 By Karl Leave a Comment

Thought some of you Cleft Heart book fans might get a kick out of seeing a photo (top right of the collage below) of politicians Pelosi and Schumer under an umbrella in D.C, back in the day. Actually, it's my sister Barbara and me in front of the U.S. Capitol after my dad mustered out of the military as a journalist in Washington, D.C. for the Navy's All Hands magazine. My loving sis wrote last year about growing up with a brother with clefts here and here. She wanted to add to the book I'd … [Read more...]